Wedding Photography Prices in Raleigh, NC

If you’ve begun the search for a wedding photographer, you’ve likely found a dizzying variety of prices. Photographers in Raleigh, NC charge as little as $1,000 or as much as $12,000 for what seems like the same amount of hours. You may be wondering what is the world is going on here? I’m here to shed some light on photography pricing: why it varies, what to expect from each price range, and how to decide what you should spend on your wedding photographer.

I’m Megan, a wedding photographer based here in Raleigh who has been working in this industry for about five years. I began this business brand new to wedding photography, charging just $1,000 when I started out. (That’s not where I’m at now, but we all start somewhere!) I’ve watched the prices change over the years, and I see a lot of variety in the photographers around me. I’ve learned quite a bit about pricing psychology and seen how much it takes to run a business. All sorts of factors go into pricing. Here are just a few:

• Years of experience
• Personal finance needs
• Business branding & target market
• Popularity of the business
• Business expertise
• Number of weddings worked per year
• Quality of the work

In general when it comes to wedding photography, they say “you get what you pay for”. If you book the cheapest photographer, you run a big risk of cheap-looking photos and poor service. If you pay over $10,000 for your photographer, you likely are getting very high quality photos and luxury service. However, the gap between the $10K and the $5K photographer may not be as big as you think. You also may get lucky with the $2K photographer… Are you even more confused now? Let me break it down by price category for you. 

Also, here’s a quick caveat: the numbers I say here are estimates based off of the 2025-2026 wedding market in Raleigh, NC. If you’re in a different region or coming to this post a few years later, the prices may be a little different. Please don’t take exact number to heart. This is just meant to give you a general idea of how wedding photographers price their work. 

Let’s break it down by price categories: budget/amateur, mid-market, and luxury. Prices are for starting full-day packages.

Budget/Amateur Photographers (Less than $3,000)

A budget photographer in Raleigh usually charges less than $3,000 for full-day coverage. This means roughly 8-10 hours. They may or may not offer a second photographer for this price. If they charge less than $3K and include extras such as engagement photos or albums, it’s a very budget price. 

Budget doesn’t necessarily mean bad, but it does mean amateur or beginner. Why? Because photographers cannot make a profit to support themselves when they charge this little for wedding photography. The business will not last. Now before you do simple math multiplying $3K times 30 weddings per year and think photographers are living lavish lives, please note that about 30-50% of profit goes out the door to business expenses and another 30% to taxes. (Self-employed individuals are taxed at a higher rate). Now you see that it’s not enough. 

Most of the time when a photographer charges this little, it’s for one of these reasons: 1) they need the experience, so they charge less, 2) they can’t get anyone to pay more, 3) they haven’t run the business long enough to see why they need to charge more, or 4) this is a side hobby and they are supported financially by another job (hence they’re not a full-time professional wedding photographer). 

While this doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re bad at taking photos, it likely means that they are less experienced and may struggle in some tricky lighting situations (such as dark receptions or mid-day first looks). It also may mean they have struggled to run a successful business because of poor quality or poor service. This isn’t necessarily true of every photographer in this category, but you run a huge risk when hiring at this price point!

Here is my biggest tip if you need to book a photographer at this price: READ ALL GOOGLE REVIEWS. Google reviews are the most honest, because they’re not hand-selected by the photographer. (A photographer’s website only has the best reviews.) If they don’t have many reviews on Google, this may be a red flag. 

One more tip: ask to see full wedding galleries. That way you can see their quality of work across entire wedding days, not just their Insta-worthy highlights.

There is no shame if you only can afford a budget photographer. However, if you can spend more money, I’d recommend one of the following categories instead.

Mid-Market Wedding Photographers ($3,000-$6,000)

A mid-market wedding photographer in Raleigh, NC starts at about $3K – $6K for about 8 hours of wedding photography. This is just a starting price. Add-ons such as a second photographer, engagement sessions, extra hours or a printed album are going to put their price well above $3,000. Please note, this price range does not include videography! A good photo-video package will be significantly higher, as it is double the work. 

Most of the photographers you find will be in this price range. These are generally established, reliable photographers. If you check out their review on their Google business listing, and it looks good, they’re generally going to do a great job. If you heard about them from your venue or planner, or know a friend who worked with them and liked them, they should do great!

You can generally expect these photographers to be reliable professionals who can give you some beautiful photos. It will be your job to assess if you like their photography style and their personality, but objectively they will be a good photographer. 

Differences in pricing here comes down to all sorts of factors: how many weddings they work a year, how much they personally need to earn for themselves and their family, how much demand they have, how much someone coached them to charge. There are many factors at play! Despite the differences, they are all going to produce a good quality of work.**

**Caveat, I cannot personally guarantee that every single photographer listing you found online charging this amount is legit. There could be scammers out there charging this amount. I always recommend reading reviews and meeting with the photographer in a consultation before booking! This article is a general guide to make sense of the wildly different photography prices we see all around.

Luxury Wedding Photographers ($7,000+)

In Raleigh, a wedding photographer who starts at $7,000 or above is generally speaking a high-end or luxury photographer. (There is some disagreement on what “luxury” means, but this is certainly a more high-end price for a North Carolina photographer.) 

Wedding photography prices at this range are above average, though you can certainly find a fair amount of photographers charging it! What I say next may be controversial, but it’s true: many individuals will not be able to see the difference in the photos between the mid-range photographer and the luxury wedding photographer. It’s like the $20 bottle of wine and the $45 bottle of wine. Can you tell which one is which without the label? Maybe you can if you’re a connoisseur. But most cannot. At this level, the difference between photography experiences is in large part the branding and in some part the service experience. The luxury photographer might send you a really fancy welcome gift with custom branding on the box. They’re going to have a gorgeous website. They may take the time to really get to know you on a personal level and send more get-to-know-you questionnaires as well as planning guides. 

As with the wine example, someone with high expertise may be able to tell the difference between the photos of a truly experienced luxury photographer and a mid-range photographer, but most won’t. 

I say “truly experienced” because I want to let you in on a secret: not all photographers in the high-end price range are more experienced. I know quite a number of photographers at this price point who have less than five years of experience. They started at a lower price point, got Instagram famous in less than a year, and their demand skyrocketed. When their demand went up, they raised their prices simply because people were willing to pay it. This is how the market works! Is it a bad thing? No. They’re popular because they’re good. Just please note that once you get to professional level pricing, the number doesn’t always equal years of experience. 

Photographers also may charge more simply to appeal to a higher-end market. They may want to work more luxury weddings, and they know that couples with luxury weddings expect to spend luxury prices. They price themselves accordingly.

What I can say universally about the luxury level is that these photographers often work fewer weddings per year (15 or less, usually). They have plenty of time to devote to each client. They should have incredible consistency in their work and the best service experience possible. You may find these same traits in a mid-market photographer, but it ought to be guaranteed in the high-end level. 

Which Price Point is Best for You?

Now that you’ve gotten an overview of wedding photography prices in Raleigh, you may be wondering what’s best for you. A good rule of thumb is to set aside 10-15% of your overall wedding budget for photography and videography. I’ve only covered photography prices here today. Expect video to cost nearly as much as photo. If you have an overall small wedding budget but really care about photography, I recommend cutting costs in other areas. Wedding photography matters. It is the only thing you take with you at the end of the day (besides your dress, but if you’re anything like me that goes in the back of the closet!) Your wedding photos will be on display on the wall of your home…in an album on the coffee table… They will be the way you remember your wedding for decades to come. This is not where to skimp on your budget! 

I hope this article has helped you make a bit of sense about wedding photography prices and why they vary so much amongst photographers. If you’re on the search for a wedding photographer in the Triangle area yourself, take a look around at my website! I’d love to meet you and chat! (Inquire for current prices here.) If you have any questions, you can also find me on Instagram @megan_nicolephoto and send me a DM there!

Happy wedding planning!

-Megan